How about a legend of Auen?
Whenever you’re visiting the little village of Auen it’s about impossible not to hear about the Jäger aus Kürpfalz (the hunter of Kürpfalz). The locals are willing to tell you all about it! Of course the tales of the legends are mystical, just like this one. Today the song of the Jäger aus Kürpfalz is sung mostly in choral societies.
Very few know that the Jäger aus Kürpfalz (1732 – 1795) was born a hereditary named Friederich Wilhelm Utsch in Rheinböllen in the Hunsrück. He owned a “Maltese Hospital” and his official seat was not far from the village of Auen. Especially beautifully situated on the edge of the Soonwald is the thousand-year old Willigis Kapelle (chapel), where the Jäger aus Kürpfalz is entombed.
Federweisser, also known as Suser, Sauser or Junger Wein in the south western part of Germany, is a fermenting grape must. The term includes all stages of fermentation from must to finished wine.
It´s made from the first harvest of wine grapes and therefore only available from white grapes and in general made from grapes that lack the potential to produce wine of a high quality.
Due to the carbonic acid, Federweisser tastes quite refreshing. So be careful how much and fast you drink it! Finally we can tell you that the yeast particles contained in Federweissen are responsible for its name, which literally means `white as feather`.
The Nahe is a river in Germany and is a famous wine region. In this region the little village of Auen is situated and the “Spanferkel am Spiess” (Pork on a spear) is very famous right there! It’s a must do.
Usually this tradition starts half way September and lasts until the end of November. It’s only served at Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The pork meat is fresh and is roasted above open fire. This preparation lasts the entire day and you’re able and allowed to be a witness to this.
The Spanfarkel am Spiess is so popular that you need to make a reservation in advance. It’s sold out every week by popular demand. Which means over 100 visitors a night! The atmosphere is great, everybody is enjoying themselves and it goes very well with the quality wines of the family Hees.
German wines have been predominantly white. Historically many of the wines were dry (trocken). Red wine has always been hard to produce in the German climate, and in the past it was usually light colored, closer to rosé.
The wines are all produced around rivers, but the ones in Auen are produced on the wine mountains. The great sites are extremely steep so they can catch the most sunlight and are so difficult to harvest mechanically. After a day of hard work it’s interesting to see the wine gatherer returning from the fields. Very proud of what they have gained!
Adventures you can have in the town of Auen:
“Maybe it´s weird, or maybe not? But we hiked the wine-mountains and when we returned to the village of Auen at the western part of the valley we ran into the Kneipp-Anlage of Auen.
Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897) was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement. He is most commonly associated with the ‘Kneipp Cure’ form of hydrotherapy, a system of healing involving the application of water through various methods, temperatures and pressures.
But what is the weird thing? We can hear you think it … Well, it´s just that we ran into this Kneipp-Anlage and it just lies out there in the middle of nowhere! “
Let’s go winetasting:
“The length of the river Nahe is approximately 120 kilometers. Maybe not too long, but its importance for the area is huge. The little village of Auen is situated in a side valley of this particular river and even benefits of this river in the south western area of Germany. Because of its varied soil, fruity, distinctive and elegant wine ripen on the slopes of the Nahe and have contributed to the region being called the “Nahe-Wine Street” (since 1971). It is also called the wine tasting area of the German wine region.
Right here you’ll find the wineranks of the family Hees. It encompasses about 2.5 hectares. Because of the northerly climate the family Hees has been searching for suitable grape varieties, particular frost resistant and early harvesting ones. It’s great to hike the ranks and the family Hees is glad (and proud) to join you for a strenuous hike. It’s one of those special, magical outdoor locations that is so remote, uncharted and gloriously far away from anything. ”
“The Hees family estate has there been ever since 1824. Usually the German wines are all produced around rivers, but the Hees wineranks are on 2 wine mountains, the Auener Kaulenberg and the Auener Römestich. The great sites are extremely steep so they catch the most sunlight and so are difficult to hike properly. But these steep slopes of the region are especially well suited to bringing out the fineness of the grapes with its fruity acidity, mostly dry in nature, and of the highest quality. The wines range from strong to powerful in the lower mountain area to rather light in the upper mountain area.
They say that the “Hees winerank hike”, with its rugged trails is the longest 7 kilometers they have ever hiked. We’re sure that’s true, because of its steep trails going up and down, it more feels like 10 kilometers. But it is a hike through some of the lovliest wineranks and because of the altitude the view over the valley is really breathtaking! ”
“During our tour through the wineranks we learned from our guide that the name ‘Nahe’ is derived from the Latin word ‘Nava’, which is based upon the Celtic origin for “the wild river”. He also showed us the different grape varieties and the different wineranks, some extremely small, others really huge! When grown in the right locations the wine grapes make very harmonious wines known and appreciated for their balance and endurance. Many hundreds of substances determine the character of a wine. The almost unlimited possibilities of variations and combinations make each wine unique.
The Hees family is clearly proud of their wineranks and told us that they’re not using any bio-dynamic or organic farming methods. After all these wine lessons of German wines and the ones of Auen in particular. It was time to hike back down to the village and have an Auen style diner. “
Yet another person who visited Auen, Germany wrote this. This shows that this town is not only great for kids, but also for adults who want to have a good old drink:
“We visited the small place of Auen, Germany during a holiday. We heard about the place from my parents who love German wine in particular. It’s located at 157 meters elevation and has around 1115 people. The winery of Heeser is a 20-hectare family winery. The best vineyard is called Kreuznacher Paradies. Nice winecellar with stainless-steel tanks and wood barrels. Many high-quality Riesling wines: Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Eisweins. The average yearly production is only 1,200 hl and therefore the estate currently does not export.
We had a tour around the property and were told that the plantings were as followed:
40% Riesling, 15% Spätburgunder, 10% Weissburgunder, 10% Grauburgunder, 10% Portugieser, 15% other varieties.
We’re not particularly fond of German wine, but we must be honest, this one is an OK wine.”
This is a review written by someone who went to Auen, Germany:
“We were pleasantly amazed by the fact that Auen is a little village that is very, very friendly for little kids.
First of all (but we guess you’ll find it anywhere) all the local people spoke to us about little Iris. She was about 3 years at that time. Everybody thought she was adorable and we were great parents to take such a sweet and young girl on vacation, instead of leaving her home! Everybody gave her attention, a little present or candy.
But what truly amazed us was that this little town had a very well organized and maintained playground for little kids. Some of them even have officials who guard the ground. It was great!”
Auen is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
It has a 1,000 year old chapel and a Evangelist church: Lapis Primarius.